Converted to EAD3 : Encoded Archival Description (EAD), Version 3 : Release: 1.1.1 : Release Date: 2019-12-16. Validating against latest version of schema.
Contact information: https://hdl.loc.gov/loc.mss/mss.contact
Catalog Record: https://lccn.loc.gov/mm79010686
Collection material in English
The following terms have been used to index the description of this collection in the LC Catalog. They are grouped by name of person or organization, by subject or location, and by occupation and listed alphabetically.
The records of the American Historical Association were given to the Library of Congress in installments from 1929 to 1990. Early deposits were converted to a gift in 1955. Additional material was transferred from the National Archives in 1953.
The records of the American Historical Association were processed in 1964, 1970, and 1980. Additions received from 1983 to 1990 were processed as Part C in 2021 by Amanda Loeb with the assistance of Colleen Benoit Kim, Emilia Schrier, Thomas Bigley, Maria Farmer, and Emily Flint. The finding aid was revised in 2010, 2014, and 2021.
Items have been transferred from the Manuscript Division to other custodial divisions of the Library. Photographs have been transferred to the Prints and Photographs Division. Audiotapes have been transferred to the Motion Picture, Broadcasting, and Recorded Sound Division. All transfers are identified in these divisions as part of the records of the American Historical Association.
Related collections in the Manuscript Division include the records of the American Council of Learned Societies.
The status of copyright in the unpublished writings of American Historical Association is governed by the Copyright Law of the United States (Title 17, U.S.C.).
The records of American Historical Association are open to research. Researchers are advised to contact the Manuscript Reading Room prior to visiting. Many collections are stored off-site and advance notice is needed to retrieve these items for research use.
Researchers wishing to cite this collection should include the following information: Container number, American Historical Association Records, Manuscript Division, Library of Congress, Washington, D.C.
The American Historical Association (AHA), founded in 1884, is a professional organization charged with providing leadership in the historical discipline and promoting the study and teaching of history. The association supports its mission by defending academic freedom, developing professional standards, supporting innovative scholarship and teaching, and endeavoring to sustain and enhance the work of historians. At the time of the organization's founding, leading academics recognized a need to establish high professional standards for historical training and research. In 1889, the association was incorporated by an act of Congress in Washington, D.C., where its office was established. Herbert Baxter Adams served as the first secretary and Andrew Dixon White was chosen as the first president. The role of secretary would later be assumed by the executive director. The Council is the main governing body of the association, with the divisions and committees also carrying out work and recommending AHA policy. The primary publication of the association is the
The records of the American Historical Association span the years 1884-1986. The records
are divided into three parts that overlap chronologically. Part A represents accessions
received from the association prior to 1963. It covers the period 1884-1962 and contains
the largest share of the association's early records. Part B consists of material
received by the Library of Congress from 1964 to 1975 and encompasses the years
1907-1974, with the bulk of the material dating from the mid-1950s to 1970. Part C
consists of materials transferred to the Library from 1983 to 1990 and dates from 1954
to 1986, with the bulk of the material dating from 1966 to 1986. In addition to some
mingling of dates, the three parts are interrelated by subject, activity, and
organization. Part A is arranged in eight series: Secretary's File
I , Treasurer's File , Executive
Council File ,
The collection as a whole consists of correspondence, notes, minutes of meetings, financial records, manuscripts of published and unpublished articles, reports, membership cards and lists, resolutions, legal briefs, and printed matter. The records illustrate the association's growth and development as the leading scholarly group for American historians. Research in the records should be supplemented by a reading of the printed
The American Historical Association was founded to stimulate historical writing and studies in the United States through the promotion of various historical activities. The early association records indicate the extent of that interest primarily through the correspondence of the association's secretary who operated on a voluntary, part-time basis. In 1934 the association officially established a permanent, though still part-time, executive secretary to handle the increasing bulk of administrative work. The original secretary's office continued until 1940. In 1941, the executive secretary became a full-time position headquartered in Washington, D.C. Thereafter, the main activities of the association were directed from that location.
The Secretary's File I and Secretary's File II in Part A, as well as the Secretary and Executive Secretary's File in Part B, document the multifaceted functions of the association. The secretarial files contain voluminous correspondence on the day-to-day operations of the association and include exchanges between the secretary or secretarial staff and members of the association. Each of these series also includes records on annual meetings, the production of annual reports compiled by the secretary's office, the nomination of officers, the selection of committees, and relations with the Executive Council and the Board of Editors of the
The earliest correspondence, reports, and minutes of meetings are located in the Secretary's File I and cover such subjects as the establishment of the Public Archives Commission and the association's cooperation with the American Political Science Association, the American Economic Association, and the Society of American Archivists. Also included are files relating to the establishment of the
Files on various awards promoting historical scholarship are present in each of the secretarial series. The awards range from grants from the Albert J. Beveridge Fund for publication of material in United States history to the Herbert Baxter Adams Prize for work in European history to the David M. Matteson Fund used for bibliographic purposes. The activities of the association relating to other scholarly groups and to state and federal government agencies are also reflected in these series. The association's collaboration with the American Council of Learned Societies and the Social Science Research Council are fully documented. The records also reveal the association's interests in archival activities on the state and federal level. The American Historical Association encouraged the training of archivists and museum curators and promoted Department of State publications such as
Much of the work of the American Historical Association has traditionally been conducted by committees. The Committees and Related Organizations series in Part A and the Committee Files series in Part B document this work although, owing to different filing systems used through the years, some of the committee records can be found in the secretarial file series. The variety of committee work is reflected in a sample of titles that include the Nomination Committee, Program Committee, Advisory Committee on the History Education Project, Anglo-American Committee on Bibliographies of British History, and Committee on Quantitative Data in History. Joint Committee for the Defense of Historians records as well as Council files chronicle the role of the association in protecting members of the historical profession in their pursuit of scholarship.
The
The Executive Council series in Part A and Part B include correspondence, minutes, and reports on the activities of this supervisory group. Some of the records of the Council are interspersed in the secretarial series.
In the 1920s and 1930s the association sponsored the Commission on the Social Studies and that group's records make up a series in Part B. Included are studies, correspondence, minutes of meetings, budget data, and reports.
A major objective of the American Historical Association has been the improvement of teaching at all levels of education. In 1956, the association established the Service Center for Teachers of History that provided historical pamphlets and conferences for secondary teachers across the country. Correspondence, book orders, conference proceedings, and manuscripts of pamphlets pertaining to the center can be found in the Service Center for Teachers of History series in Part B.
In 1943, the Department of the Army asked the association to provide a series of study guides that the army could use in its troop information programs. The Historical Service Board Records series in Part A documents this joint venture through correspondence, contracts, proposals for papers, and pamphlets written by historians for use in the program.
The Treasurer's File series in Part A and Part B contain correspondence and financial records that document the association's budget from 1884 to 1969. Most financial records are located in these series, although a few records pertaining to individual groups and committees are retained with their respective committee records.
Series in Part C of the collection are listed and briefly described below. A fuller description of each series and a list of its contents can be accessed in the series descriptions within the container list.
The Part C: Administrative File chiefly documents the activities of the Executive Council and includes financial material and records of an internal Review Board.
The Part C: Committees and Delegates series consists of correspondence, membership information, votes, reports, and other records related to committee business and activities.
The Part C: Divisions series contains records of the Professional, Research, and Teaching divisions.
The Part C: General Correspondence series consists of correspondence with individuals, academic and professional organizations, research institutions, government entities, publishers, and other correspondents.
The Part C: Prizes and Awards series documents the many awards and prizes the association presented for excellence in scholarship and authorship.
The Part C: Publications series documents several of the American Historical Association’s publications, including the
The Part C: Women Historians and Women's History series consists of material relating to women in the academic profession, as well as the study of women’s history.
A sampling of names appearing in the collection include Thomas Perkins Abernathy, Herbert Baxter Adams, Charles McLean Andrews, Thomas Andrew Bailey, Frederic Bancroft, George Bancroft, Charles A. Beard, Mary Ritter Beard, Carl L. Becker, Samuel Flagg Bemis, Herbert Eugene Bolton, William J. Bouwsma, Solon J. Buck, Alfred LeRoy Burt, Avery Craven, Merle Curti, Philip D. Curtin, William Archibald Dunning, John King Fairbank, Sidney Bradshaw Fay, Guy Stanton Ford, Worthington Chauncey Ford, Dixon Ryan Fox, John Hope Franklin, Leo Gershoy, Charles Gibson, Louis Reichenthal Gottschalk, Lewis Hanke, Albert Bushnell Hart, Carlton J. H. Hayes, J. Franklin Jameson, Waldo Gifford Leland, Arthur Link, Dumas Malone, Ernest R. May, Donald R. McCoy, William Hardy McNeill, Frederick Merk, Samuel Eliot Morison, Richard Brandon Morris, William Alfred Morris, Dana Gardner Munro, Frank Lawrence Owsley, Robert R. Palmer, J. H. Parry, Frederic L. Paxson, Louis Pelzer, Dexter Perkins, Ulrich Bonnell Phillips, David H. Pinkney, Julius William Pratt, Charles W. Ramsdell, J. G. Randall, James Harvey Robinson, Arthur M. Schlesinger, (1888-1965), Arthur M. Schlesinger, Jr., Robert Livingston Schuyler, Charles Seymour, Boyd C. Shafer, H. Morse Stephens, Frederick Jackson Turner, Arthur Preston Whitaker, and Gordon Wright.
This collection is arranged in twenty-three series within three parts:
Part A:
Part B:
Part C:
Correspondence, letterbooks, circular letters, reports, minutes, meeting and
conference material, programs, publications, handbooks, membership and other
lists, financial records, speeches, and printed matter.
Arranged chronologically and thereunder by type of material or topic.
Correspondence, financial account books, bank statements, cancelled checks, and other financial records.
Arranged alphabetically by type of material and thereunder chronologically.
Correspondence, reports, meeting dockets and minutes, conference material, financial records, and printed matter.
Arranged alphabetically by type of material and thereunder chronologically.
Editorial correspondence, reports, meeting dockets and minutes, reports, papers and abstracts, contracts, financial records, and printed matter.
Arranged by type of material or topic.
Correspondence, memoranda, pamphlet series, financial records, and printed matter.
Arranged by type of material or topic.
Correspondence, reports, and printed matter.
Arranged by type of material.
Correspondence, memoranda, reports, meeting agenda and minutes, manuals, announcements, mailing lists, applications, contracts, financial records, schedules, and printed matter.
Arranged chronologically and thereunder by type of material or topic.
Correspondence, meeting records, and reports.
Arranged chronologically.
Correspondence of J. Franklin Jameson, contracts, and printed matter.
Arranged alphabetically by name or type of material.
Photostatic copies and transcriptions of foreign documents, notes, reports, memoranda, and newspaper clippings.
Arranged by type of material.
Correspondence and committee reports.
Arranged alphabetically by type of file.
Correspondence and a report.
Arranged alphabetically by type of material.
Correspondence, lists, orders, and financial records.
Arranged by type of material.
Reports and correspondence.
Arranged by type of material.
Correspondence and reports.
Arranged by type of material or topic.
Correspondence, memoranda, and printed matter.
Arranged chronologically.
Correspondence, memoranda, reports, minutes, proceedings, lists, registration cards, and printed matter.
Arranged by type of material or topic.
Printed matter and photographs.
Arranged by type of material and thereunder by name of individual.
Correspondence, memoranda, reports, minutes, proceedings, lists, membership statistics, ballots, legislation, resolutions, reviews, abstracts, and printed matter.
Arranged by type of material or topic.
Correspondence, memoranda, reports, minutes, programs, charter, membership lists
and applications, guides, bibliographies, and printed matter.
Arranged chronologically and thereunder by type of material or topic.
Editor's correspondence, original manuscripts published, board of editors' correspondence, and financial matter.
Arranged by type of material or topic and thereunder chronologically.
Minutes, correspondence, reports, and miscellaneous petitions, notes, questionnaires, reviews, and printed matter.
Arranged by type of material and thereunder chronologically.
Membership files, chronological files, and alphabetical files treating every aspect of the association's functions.
Arranged by type of material and thereunder alphabetically by type of material or chronologically.
Correspondence, memoranda, reports, minutes, legal briefs, programs, financial records, and printed matter.
Arranged alphabetically by type of material or topic.
Central office files containing organizational records and research data collected by the commission and its subcommittees.
Arranged alphabetically by type of material or topic.
Applications for funds, general correspondence, and subject files, including manuscripts and correspondence relating to the publications of the center's pamphlets.
Arranged alphabetically by type of material or topic.
Annual dues, annual reports and draft budgets, and miscellaneous financial correspondence, receipts, vouchers, lists, and ledgers.
Arranged alphabetically by topic, committee, investment, or project.
Account ledger from the Americana for College Libraries Committee.
Arranged and described according to the series, container, and folder from which it was removed.
The Administrative File series chiefly documents the activities of the Executive Council, the primary governing body of the American Historical Association, including conducting business, setting policy, and managing financial and legal matters. Records include agenda and meeting minutes, committee papers, files on the constitution and bylaws, membership materials, records of the Board of Trustees, files related to management of the
Material types include agendas, meeting minutes, correspondence, reports, circulars, printed matter, memoranda, and financial material.
Arranged according to Executive Council, Finance, and Review Board, then chronologically by year and alphabetically by name or material type therein.
The Committees and Delegates series consists of correspondence, membership information, votes, reports, and other records related to committee business and activities. The series includes material for internal committees, joint committees with related organizations, and delegates representing the American Historical Association in external committees, organizations, and projects. There are also files on historians from other countries.
Material types include general correspondence, printed material, publications, reports, membership material, and voting records.
Arranged chronologically by year and alphabetically by name of committee therein.
The Divisions series consists of files of the Professional, Research, and Teaching divisions of the American Historical Association. The three divisions are the major units for formulating policy and making recommendations to the Executive Council. Records of the Professional Division document efforts to disseminate employment information and protect the rights of historians, and include materials on professional complaints, ethics and standards, annual reports, surveys of the historical profession, and relevant lawsuits and legal cases. Records of the Research Division document members' work to promote historical scholarship, preserve historical documents, and ensure equal access to information. Topics of interest include research ethics, access to presidential papers, the classification and destruction of government records by intelligence agencies, research grants, and institutional search and reproduction fees. Records of the Teaching Division document efforts to disseminate information about the training of history teachers in schools, colleges, and universities, including regional teaching conferences, training courses, and pamphlet series. Materials also include planing for National History Day conferences, surveys, television projects, innovations in teaching history, and proposals for the development of a popular history magazine.
Material types include general correspondence, printed material, publications, annual reports, pamphlets, surveys, project proposals, and conference materials.
Arranged alphabetically by division, then chronologically by year and alphabetically by name or material type therein.
The General Correspondence series consists of correspondence with individuals, academic and professional organizations, research institutions, government entities, publishers, and other correspondents. Some correspondence is also arranged by general subject or issue, including the activites of the American Historical Association, access to historical records and research material, scholarly publishing, and education and teaching.
Material types include letters, memoranda, and printed matter.
Arranged chronologically by year and alphabetically by name or subject therein.
The Prizes and Awards series spans the years 1967-1986, with the bulk of the material dating between 1973 and 1983. The series chronicles the many awards and prizes the American Historical Association presented for excellence in scholarship and authorship and is primarily comprised of correspondence between entrants and members of the Committee on Prizes. At times, writing samples are also included. Many of the prizes reflected in the series were awarded annually, with the exception of the Bicentennial Award, which was presented in honor of the United States’ bicentennial in 1976. In addition to documentation of these prizes, the series also contains material related to the organization, structure, and function of the Committee on Prizes in the years between 1973 and 1976.
Material types include correspondence and printed matter.
Arranged alphabetically by prize or award name.
The Publications series spans the years 1954-1986 and documents several of the American Historical Association’s publications, primarily during the 1980s. The series includes correspondence and publication specifications related to the
Material types include correspondence, publication specifications, and article drafts.
Arranged alphabetically by publication title or topic.
The Women Historians and Women's History series consists of material relating to women in the academic profession, as well as the study of women’s history. The series includes records of the American Historical Association’s Committee on Women Historians and files relating to the
Material types include correspondence, printed material, reports, minutes, and publications.
Arranged alphabetically by title or material type.